Chapter Two
~/*\~ Cherry ~/*\~
Gail came to the Diner the next day, and sat at the counter as Cherry slipped her a few instant coffee sachets. “Your boss catches you, and you’ll get in trouble.” She said quietly. “People have been fired for less.”
“Eugene knows there are a hundred more just like me waiting to take my job.” Cherry said back. “The pay is a joke, but even tips are worth more than nothing. He won’t fire me, because anyone who takes my place? He’s gotta train them up. It might be ‘unskilled labor’, but you still need someone to show you where everything is. A few coffee sachets, and the stuff we were going to throw away and close of business? It isn’t worth the inconvenience of replacing me.”
“Nothing says ‘job security’ quite like a lazy boss.” Gail quipped.
At that moment, Eugene himself came over. “You takin’ your break now, Cherry?”
“She was just telling me all the morning specials.” Gail said brightly, covering for her friend. “I notice a lot of the ‘usual’ items are unavailable today.”
“Supply problems.” Eugene excused. “Even the best five star chef can’t work if the ingredients don’t come in.”
“And he wasn’t chastising his best employee for stopping to talk with our valued customers.” Cherry smiled, laying it on thick. “I usually take my break around now on Wednesdays. That’s why he comes out to work the register.”
“Always just before the Bible Thumpers come in for coffee.” Eugene commented lightly. “I don’t know why. They’re our most regular… customers…” He trailed off for a moment, gazing at Gail. His head tilted as he looked at her. “I’m sorry, but have we met before?”
Gail rolled her eyes. “Well, there’s an original line.”
“Aaand that’s my cue to take a break.” Cherry said immediately, heading through the employee doors out the back.
~/*\~
The ‘Employees Only’ area was little more than an office, and a janitor’s closet. The office doubled as a storeroom for some of their spare condiments and snacks. Eugene’s desk was the only place in the Diner where she was allowed to sit down for any length of time, and she almost groaned with delight, getting off her feet. The day was only a quarter over. The Lunch rush hadn’t even started yet, and her feet were already hurting. “Who decided to make Diner’s with tile floors anyway?” She murmured to herself.
While in Eugene’s office, she pulled a soda out of her backpack, and gazed around, letting a few minutes pass. She played a round of Candy Crush on her phone, and put her phone away before she was caught using it during work hours. She noticed the clipboard with the shipping manifest hanging on a hook over the desk, and took a look. Apparently, the Service Station ‘next door’ was having the same supply problems. The fuel pumps weren’t affected for once. The food wholesalers were.
Despite herself, she took a closer look. She’d had trouble finding a few things at the grocer. Apparently, they were all having the same trouble.
Then Eugene came in, heading right to the shelf, with the large box of salt. “Shakers on tables two and four are low.”
“I’ll take care of it.” She promised him.
Eugene looked at her with a strange interest that Cherry couldn’t quite place. “How long have you known Cammie Smith?”
Cherry blinked. “Who?”
“That girl you were talking to just now.”
“Her name is Gail. She’s my roommate.”
“Oh.” Eugene suddenly flushed, sounding chagrined. “Sorry. I didn’t realize.”
“Realize what?” She asked him, confused. “You think I can afford rent in this town myself on what you pay me?”
Eugene laughed, like that was the funniest thing he’d ever heard, and nodded agreeably. “Right. Not my business.” He was already out the door.
What was that about? She wondered, but she checked the time on her phone and decided her break was probably over.
~/*\~
Gail was at the counter with a Club Sandwich when Cherry returned. “They’re gone.” She said lightly, gesturing with her chin over at the door. “The ‘Bible Thumpers’ just left.
“I know.” Cherry gestured at the counter. “They’re the only customers who bring their plates back to the counter, rather than leave them at the table for me to collect.”
Cherry took a few more orders, delivered a few refills on coffee, and made her way back to the counter to ring up money on the Till. It had become so routine that she could do it on autopilot.
Gail kept eating her club sandwich, scanning her social media without looking up. “Mind if I ask why you try to avoid them?” She said, picking up the thread of their conversation as if there’d been no interruption.
“Long story.” Cherry said honestly. “Short version: I used to be a Jehovah’s Witness myself. At least, my parents were.”
“Ah.” Gail nodded. “Do you want to tell me the long version, or should I feel free to shut up?”
“It’s not a secret. It’s not even an original story; but I don’t really enjoy telling the tale.” Cherry admitted. “More importantly…” She glanced back at the Kitchen, where Eugene was filling orders. But every time he brought a plate forward to be served, he sent a glance over their way. “Why is my boss checking you out so much?”
Gail raised an eyebrow. “Do guys need a reason?”
“Not that I’ve noticed, but-” Cherry looked at Eugene, then back to Gail, then back to him. “He’s twice our age.”
“That’s usually a reason ‘for’, not ‘against’.” Gail seemed unconcerned. She finished her sandwich, and pushed the plate to her. “You can finish my fries. I gotta get to work.”
Knowing better than to waste food, Cherry did so quickly, and went back about her workday. Still, it stayed on her mind. Gail had just retreated from the Diner, and the conversation. Something she’d never done before.
~/*\~
Cherry worked the day shift on Wednesdays, which meant she was home before Gail. She had their leftovers from the last few days simmering in a pot, and the house smelled halfway homey. Cherry taste-tested what she had, and declared it ‘edible’, when Gail got home. “Hey.”
Gail shut the door behind her and locked it automatically. “Hey.” She groaned. “That smells nice. What is it?”
“Basically everything in our fridge that was close to expiration.” Cherry said blandly. “I’ve already tried some, and haven’t keeled over, so it’s probably safe enough.”
Gail nodded, and quickly went to the shared bedroom, changing out of her work clothes.
By the time she returned, Cherry had spooned out food for them both, and sat rigidly in her usual chair.
“You look tense.” Gail noted. “Something happened after I left this morning?”
“Not exactly.” Cherry took a breath. “We have to talk.”
Gail tensed. “Nothing good ever came of that sentence.”
Cherry nodded, committed to talking about it now. “So, my boss asked how long I’d known ‘Cammie Smith’. And since I didn’t know who that was, I couldn’t give him an answer. He didn’t push it, but given the way he kept peeking at you, I got curious… So the next time I was in the ‘office’, I checked his browser history. Not long after you left, he’d apparently… looked you up. I think he wanted to make sure it was really you.”
Gail sighed hard. “He looks at adult sites on the work computer? Classy guy, your boss.”
Cherry winced, now that it had been said plainly. “You’re Camming in my bedroom?”
“On alternate days, it’s my bedroom.” Gail retorted; but Cherry could see the hidden worry. “It… it’s better money that I get at work. No matter how bad the economy gets, no matter how tight the household budget, there are some things guys are always willing to pay for.” Her head tilted. “And it’s not really your business.”
“My boss recognized you.” Cherry scoffed. “He seemed quite intrigued when I told him we were roommates. I think he assumes that I’m doing the same thing you are, or at the very least, I’m the one holding the camera for you.”
Gail scoffed. “Terriffic.” She took a deep breath, bracing herself. “Look, straight up: I started doing it during the Covid Lockdowns; because there wasn’t another option. I stopped once I could go back to work, but with the rent hike, and the-”
“I get it.” Cherry sighed. “No judgments. I’m not about to ‘shame’ you for covering half our rent. But seriously? It’s my bedroom too, and you’re using it as a ‘set’.” She glared. “You should have told me about this. And if our sleazoid landlord finds out, he’s either going to evict us, or extort you into… y’know: ‘Paying the rent’ that way.”
“I know.” She admitted. “It’s how I got kicked out of my last place, in fact.” She looked down. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I wasn’t sure how you'd react, and I can tell you from experience: It is easier to ask forgiveness than permission.”
Cherry let out a breath. “I guess it is.” She couldn’t get the scowl off her face.
Gail had seen it before. “You can be honest. The part that really makes you angry?”
Cherry growled, before confessing. “You make more than I do. And with money so tight, that makes you the breadwinner in this house.”
“It’s not the Victorian Era. Women don’t have to be ashamed of this kind of job anymore. Even in the Victorian era, a lot of women did a lot worse; because they didn’t have any other options.” Gail set her jaw. “And you know what? I’m not ashamed. I’ve sunbathed on a beach, just like most women, and nobody questions why. I do this for the money. If someone does this for the kink, or the thrill; how is it anyone else’s problem?” Gail nodded. “But it will be a problem if it gets back to my ‘real’ life.”
“I’m not going to go telling anyone.” Cherry promised. “It affects me, because you’re doing this in our home, and I was… caught off guard.”
Gail nodded. “One of the customers at the place I work? He recognized me too. The first thing he did was glance at his wife, afraid she could read his mind.”
Cherry scoffed.
“I’m not embarrassed to do what I have to do. As long as the world insists that we need money, everyone’s working one angle or another. If what I do on the side is something shameful or wrong, then why are so many people willing to pay money just to look at women like me? Men will shame women for sleeping around, but they’re the ones trying to get us into bed. I have long made my peace with this part of the world’s ‘unfairness’.” Her voice lowered. “When you’re a kid, they drill it into you from preschool: ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Every day, someone asked us.” Her face was carefully neutral. “No little kid wants to do this when they grow up. But you do what you have to, if you want to eat.” She looked at the door. “You want me to move out?”
Cherry looked at the front door too. The exact spot where Gail had come to her rescue when Jamel showed up, looking to score drug money. The moment they moved from ‘roommates of necessity’ to ‘friends’.
And Cherry suddenly knew exactly what to do. Gail was her friend, and her ‘other job’ was an act of reluctant necessity, keeping a roof over their heads. Cherry was going to be a friend, and offer kindness and support, no matter what. “So. Now that I know, let’s talk about it.” She forced herself to smile. “And… maybe figure out how to disguise the bedroom a bit better.” She rolled her eyes, scoffing at herself. “And while we’re at it, we should probably figure out a way to handle things if my boss ever brings this up with me again.”
Gail was almost, almost starting to smile at that, feeling herself gain an ally. “Well, in my experience, when someone recognizes you, they either have two goals: To make sure nobody catches them looking, or to get a free date. The latter think I won’t ever say no. Here’s how you handle it, if it comes up again.”
~/*\~
Life went on for a while. The Tenants Association had taken their landlord to court. They got the 20% jump in rent knocked down to 15%, and figured that was the best they could do. By the time the ruling had come through, half the building had been evicted, or left; their savings eaten up by the court case. The building refilled again almost instantly. The world never ran short of people struggling to find a place to live.
Cherry and Gail had managed to save enough money on their rent to keep the apartment, but then Gail had gotten sick enough to need a doctor, and their savings were gone instantly. When she recovered, she’d gone back to Camming, trying to get them out of debt.
Life went on as normal, and they tried to make the best of it, scrimping and saving where they could.
~/*\~
Hobbies were a tricky thing when you were broke. You couldn’t travel. You couldn’t buy equipment. Their apartment wasn’t large enough for painting, or puzzles. Their work hours meant they had little time for sports or films. Their budget limited their cooking to the cheapest ingredients.
That left free things, like card games, books from the library, or free games on their devices. Gail had a passion for boardgames, and had them loaded on her phone. Sometimes she played online with strangers. Sometimes she played with Cherry, the two of them passing her phone back and forth as they took their turns. Most nights, one of them would scroll social media while the other read a book.
One night, as they carried out this routine, they also discussed a few household matters. “Oh, I stopped at the store this morning.” Cherry said suddenly, eyes still on her book. “They were still out of the vanilla flavor you like, but I did find a large box of staples.”
“What do I owe you?” Gail asked, eyes still on her screen.
“Don’t worry about it. You bought the last batch of toilet paper. We’re even.” Cherry assured her, mentally counting the coins she had in her various hiding places. “How come you need to buy staples?”
“Tobacconists have order forms and such, just like everyone else. To request office supplies, you gotta fill out forms and such. Easier to just bring some in. I’ll take the box to work in the morning.” Gail frowned at her screen. “Something’s going on.”
“Turn it off and on again.” Cherry said without looking up.
“No, not that. Some kind of news alert.” She tapped at it, and a video feed popped up on her screen. “The United Nations is making an announcement.”
“...has global problems, and we need global solutions. Because the things that unite us are far more important than anything that divides us. We have, at the very least, the same air, the same water, the same earth to live on. And we’re in danger of losing it forever. Everything the human race has ever achieved is on the line with each new generation. For too long, we’ve been telling the world what’s important, and not done anything. That changes now. This world will be Secure in Peace! The Coalition is already chosen, not only to identify the threats to the world, but to take action! There is only Peace and Security when everyone is Secure in Peace!”
Cherry frowned. Something tickled at her memory. She couldn’t quite place it, but she’d heard it somewhere before.
“You think they mean it this time?” Gail wavered.
The lost tone caught Cherry by surprise. She’d never heard her roommate sound like that before. “I have no doubt they mean it every time they say something positive. Whether it’s going to change anything or not, who knows?”
“Girl, the world is ending. Everyone knows it, and we all get through it by turning off the news, because we can’t stand the sound of our own leaders making noise anymore.” Gail said with scorn. “Someone’s gotta do something eventually. Why not now?”
“I don’t disagree.” Cherry said soothingly. “I’m just saying, I’ve heard speeches before.”
Gail deflated a little. “Yeah. Me too.”
~/*\~
Cherry’s work schedule was on rotation, which meant some days she left for work way too early; except for the days when she got home far too late. This was one of the late shifts, which meant she slept in as late as she could.
Knock knock.
With a groan, she hauled herself off the couch and went to answer the door. If she’d had her coffee first, she would have checked the peephole before opening it. But she didn’t, and she found two Jehovah’s Witnesses on her doorstep. “Oh.”
“Good morning.” One of them said brightly. “We’re talking to your neighbors today about the extraordinary world events that are happening-”
Cherry held her hand up. “I’m sorry, I don’t really have the time for-” She paused. “World events?”
“Last week’s announcement from the U.N.” The other Witness clarified.
“Sorry, I don’t have time for political discussion.” Cherry told them both quickly, already backing into her apartment. “Good day.”
She shut the door between them, harder than she meant to, and made a quick march to the other side of the room, already reaching for the coffee. Why are they talking about politics anyway? It’s been a while, but they couldn’t have changed their stance on neutrali-
She almost dropped the coffee cup when her brain finally made the connection. “That’s where I know it from!” She said aloud.
Knock knock.
Letting out a sigh, she went back to the door, and answered it again, expecting another pair.
Instead, it was her father.
“Dad.” She breathed, startled out of her mind.
“Hello, sweetheart.” Her father said, sounding nervous himself. “Sorry about a few moments ago. When I realized we were working in this building today, I asked them to leave your door for me.” He jerked a thumb at the opposite apartment door. “But I thought you were across the Hall.”
“I shifted a few months ago. I needed a roommate after they hiked up the rent.” Cherry stammered out. “It’s… It’s been a while.”
“It has.” Eldon nodded. “Can we talk?”
~/*\~
She invited him in. Her apartment wasn’t large enough to gather any real mess. She served them both coffee and they sat together on the couch. He didn’t say anything the entire time she prepared. She knew he was nervous. The last time they’d spoken privately, there had been some strong words exchanged.
“Look, I don’t know how to ease into this.” She said finally, sitting beside him. “So let me see if I can guess: The announcement has JW’s on edge. You’re seeing it as a prophecy being fulfilled, and you’ve come to try and take one last crack at ‘saving’ me. Is that pretty close?”
“You’ve been away for a while, dear.” Her father said gently. “A few years ago, the Society adjusted the understanding of... Apparently, the start of Tribulation isn’t the ‘it's too late’ moment we thought it was.”
“How convenient.” She murmured, before shaking her head. “No. Sorry, I take that back. I know it’s been a source of fear for you; with me ‘outside’.”
“It’s a fear that a lot of people have.” Eldon excused, keeping it abstract, to lessen the emotions of the moment. “Almost everyone in the Congregation has one person that…” He trailed off. “Well. That’s why I’m here, anyway. I don’t want to restart the old fight. I don’t want to push you. But it’s clear we’re coming to the end of this. If I’m wrong, I doubt the Coalition is going to fix everything like a magic wand. But if we’re right…”
Cherry sipped her own coffee, barely tasting it. “I admit, when I first heard the announcement, I didn’t think of it as ‘a sign of the times’. It felt familiar, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, place it. Then those two sisters knocked on the door just now; and it hit me where I’d heard this sort of story before. ‘Peace and Security’.”
“You do remember.” He breathed, overjoyed to hear it. He pulled out his phone, and brought up the App. “Here’s the important part. Revelation 17:17.” He read it aloud. “For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought, yes, to carry out their one thought by giving their kingdom to the wild beast, until the words of God will have been accomplished.” He looked up at her. “Last time you were with us, we thought that meant the attack on Religion, but the Governing Body now says that verse refers to when the governments actually give their power to the United Nations.”
Cherry said nothing, but she wasn’t arguing the point, which gave Eldon enough time to pull up something on his phone. “Yeah, here it is. It’s from a 2025 article. You left before then, so you didn’t hear it; but it’s extremely relevant now.” He tried to get her to take the screen, but she was holding her cup with both hands; and instead he read it aloud. “We need not look for news reports that governments are slowly becoming more supportive of the United Nations. What we can expect is this: With startling suddenness, Jehovah will put it into the hearts of the nations to hand over their power to the wild beast. When that happens, we will know that the great tribulation is about to begin.”
(Author’s Note: This is one of the New Understandings that this book was meant to address. There will be other ‘conversations’ about the new thinking. I will make an effort to put the source material for each change in the text, so you can find the articles in their entirety. The article that Eldon is reading is from the ‘Questions From Readers’ in the November 2025 Study Watchtower.)
Cherry felt a little tendril of ice crawling up her spine. “T-the talking heads on the news, the commentaries on the podcasts… They’re all saying how unlikely it was that the Coalition would do anything. After all, no world leader has ever created an authority that they might be subject to.”
“And yet, it has happened.” Her father grinned. “There it is. A global action, considered impossible by human standards. An ‘act of god’.”
“Stop it!” She said sharply and jumped up from the couch. “You couldn’t guilt me into coming back. Don’t think that scare tactics are going to work either.”
“Sweetheart, I didn’t write this morning’s headlines.” Her father returned. “When the ship is sinking, it’s not a scare tactic to beg you to run to a lifeboat.”
She said nothing, not looking at him.
Finally, he broke the silence, his voice was suddenly more gentle. “I know. I’m your father, so everything sounds like ‘I told you so’, no matter how it’s meant.”
“It’s not that.” She said instinctively, and she immediately shook her head. “Well, okay it might be that. But even if you don’t mean it that way, it’s what it is. You want me to admit that you were right, and I was being a stupid teenage girl, and-”
“The fight was my fault.” He said over her.
She stared at him, floored. “...what?” She croaked.
He nodded. “I’m very sorry. I made you choose, and even that much was only going to push you away. I shouldn’t have done that. I could have reached out at any point in the years since, and I didn’t. I’m so, so sorry for that.”
She stared at him, uncomprehending.
“You are my daughter. You matter more to me than anything. Including pride.” He spread his hands wide. “I looked at the news this morning, and suddenly everything we said to each other last time seemed meaningless.”
She was still staring. Whenever she thought of going home, there was a fire lit inside her, fuelled by the hurt feelings, and the longer silences. The fire was suddenly cold in her gut. “And… that’s supposed to make it all okay again?”
“No.” He said plainly. “But what else can I say?”
“No, not that.” She shook her head. “I mean, I know you don’t like the fact that I left the faith. And I know you really don’t approve of why. But this is my life now. I built it all by myself. And it’s hard. But it’s real. And it’s mine. It’s not like the years in between change. It won’t just all go back to the way it was.”
“I know. But if this is… what we always knew would come? Then there’s no going back from it later. Ever.”
“And me coming back…” She wavered. “It won’t undo everything else. You won’t suddenly be an Elder again. I won’t just move back into my old room, and pretend the years in between never happened.”
“I know. But I don’t want to ‘go back’. I want to go forward.” He shrugged. “I admit, I blamed you for a lot of what I lost, and I was angry. But really, I was more sad. Worried for you.”
She felt the cold fire inside her sudden spark a little hotter. “Oh come on. Everyone knows that’s worse.”
Eldon scoffed. “I suppose so. But it’s true. More than anything. More than money, more than my position in the Congregation, more than my own life, I wish you would come home. Especially now.” He sipped his coffee like he was hiding behind it for a moment. “You wouldn’t be the only one, you know. A lot of inactive brothers and sisters are seeing what’s going on in the world; and are coming back.”
She sank back onto the couch beside him, feeling her insides shake. “Dad…” She said finally. “What if you’re just wrong?”
“Is fear the only reason to come back?” He asked, worried. “You don’t miss any of it? Because they miss you. I miss you. Your aunts and uncles miss you.”
“No. Don’t.” She held her hands up, warding that off.
“I’m not trying to guilt you, Cherry. I’m saying that nobody is angry, and everyone is looking at the world and praying for the lost lambs to come home. Not just you. All of them. Everywhere.”
She looked at him. “The Coalition really has you all rattled, huh?”
“Not rattled, exactly… But the congregations are all feeling it. The problem with prophecy is that it’s easy to see it after the fact. This might be it. Certainly, it’s a lot bigger and closer and more ‘in your face’ than anything else that might have been ‘it’ before.”
And she shuddered hard. “Man, if you’re right, then… Then it’ll be…”
“Something ‘Biblical’?” He quipped.
She was silent for a long moment. She felt his arm go around her shoulders, and she felt a choked sob grow in her throat. She hadn’t felt her father’s arms around her in literal years. “Wouldn’t it be wrong?” She wavered. “To suddenly turn around and say ‘take me back’? Wouldn’t it be hypocrisy?”
“No more than a lot of people.” Her father said, and she could tell he was getting excited, sensing that he was about to ‘win’. “We’re all sinners. We all come to God as hypocrites on some level. That’s what forgiveness is about. It was never about ‘deserving it’. Only about appreciating it.”
“Yeah, but those people didn’t leave, after they got the whole ‘forgiveness’ thing.” She wavered. “I did.”
“You take wrong turns. Doesn’t mean you can’t take the right one afterward. Doesn’t mean you don’t get where you were trying to go.” Her father said warmly. “If me and everyone else can welcome you back, why shouldn’t a perfect, benevolent, loving God do the same; and a million times more?”
Knock knock.
Cherry jumped, startled out of the moment. Her father dropped his arm from her shoulders. She cleared her throat loudly, and went to answer the door. “Who can that be now? I only know about five people.”
“Maybe it’s the rest of my witnessing group, wondering where I am.” Her father commented.
She opened the door, and felt her stomach drop. “Oh. Really not a good time.” She hissed at him.
Jamel stood there, embarrassed. “I know. I promise, I’m not here for money. Not this time.”
“Is that Jamel?” Her father called from the couch, and his warm tone was gone like it had never been there.
Jamel’s eyes bulged. “Is that your father?” He dropped his voice, as if he could hide. But too late, as Eldon came to the door, standing directly behind his daughter, and their eyes met over her shoulder.
“What’s he doing here?” Both of them demanded in unison.
“Come back in an hour.” She hissed at Jamel, just to get rid of him. She slammed the door shut, and turned back to her father. “Dad, before you go crazy-”
“I thought you were at least done with him.” Eldon snapped.
The cold fire sparked hot again. “I thought you didn’t come here to start the old fight over.”
“Jamel isn’t just a ‘fight we had’. I thought you’d cut him out of your life completely."
“I see him every now and then, but we aren’t-”
“Did he say he wasn’t here for money ‘this time’? How much money have you given him?”
“Hey!” She barked back automatically. “That’s not your business anymore!” She scowled. “God, every time I start to think there might be a chance of you treating me like a real person, you go and get that tone again.”
“Well I guess we’re even.” He fired back. “You don’t like my tone of voice, and I don’t like your boyfriend being a criminal. When are you going to gr-” He stopped himself suddenly. He knew how that sentence ended. So did she.
Cold silence.
“I have to get ready for work.” She said finally, storming towards the bedroom.
“Cherry-” He started to say, and she could tell that he was about to apologize. The moment Jamel appeared, they’d fallen right back into familiar patterns.
He’s about to apologize, which means it’ll be on me to forgive him. She knew, fast enough that she didn’t have to articulate the thought. This dance had happened so many times before, she knew the steps by instinct. He’s not putting it on me to be the ‘bigger person’ this time. Not like this.
“Always great talkin’ to you, dad. Lock up when you leave.” She called over her shoulder before he could say anything else, and she shut the bedroom door hard between them.
~/*\~
She stayed in the bedroom until she was sure her father was gone. Then she got dressed for work, and left early. No reason she couldn’t get a few extra tips.
She found Jamel waiting by the mailboxes as she came out of the apartment building. He looked sober, and embarrassed. “I’m sorry. My usual timing never fails.” He admitted. “But I was surprised to see your father there. I thought you two were on the outs for good.”
“So did I. He showed up a little before you did.” She admitted, as he fell into step beside her. “First time in years.”
He winced. “I messed it up, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but in a way, I’m grateful.” She told him as they walked. “Seeing him again was tugging on some of my heartstrings. If the sound of your voice at the door was enough to get us arguing again, I’d rather find out now, rather than let him in any further; if that makes sense.”
“I get it. It’s the reason you don’t open the door for me anymore either, if I recall.” He quipped.
She paused and looked at him. “You look… half normal.”
“I am half normal.” He grinned that familiar lopsided grin. The one that made her fall for him a lifetime ago. “I came by to apologize. For the last time.”
“It won’t be the last time.” She said with grim certainty, walking again.
“No, not ‘the’ last time like that. I mean I want to apologize for what happened the last time I showed up at your door.” He explained. “I promised myself that clean or not, I’d never come to you for money again. I’ve done that too many times.”
“There’s no promise made that can stand up when you’re in withdrawals, Jamel.” She said seriously.
“I know it. Believe me, I know it.” He said with grim regret. “But one of the Twelve Steps is to make your peace and apologize for all the people you hurt. I think I hurt you more than anyone else I know.”
“I’m honored.” She drawled.
“I really am trying to get clean, y’know.” He told her. “I’m self-aware enough to know that I don’t have too many nights like that left in me at this point. I gotta change my life. I’m just… so bad at it.”
“Somehow, I don’t think that confession would have made things easier if you’d said it in front of my dad.” She commented archly, and the two of them chuckled in that way they always did when nothing was funny. “I hope you can get clean again, Jamel.” She said sincerely. “I really don't like the person you become when you’re loaded.”
“And the person I am sober?”
That person is the love of my life. She thought, but had the sense not to say it out loud.
“Join the Coalition!” A voice called from the street. “Local Problems have Global Solutions! Come to St Anthony’s Hall tonight, and find out what the Coalition can do for your community!”
The two of them made it to the corner, where a young man in a uniform was handing out handbills. “There’s a Coalition Meeting tonight for this neighborhood. Remember, solutions are found by the people who actually show up to do something. We can’t wait any longer.”
The spike of cold fear that she’d felt an hour before came back, as Jamel took the handbill automatically, reading the details. What if this is it?
~/*\~
She saw the pamphlets again multiple times during the day. Almost everyone in the Diner was talking about it. The only ones not talking about the Coalition were reading about it on their phones. Eugene was glued to his computer at every free moment too. She didn’t see him all day.
Her temper had cooled instantly, once her father had left. The fear was another matter. If her father was right about world events, then it meant the world was ending. Soon. Maybe tomorrow.
So what do I do? She asked herself. He says to come back, but he’s my father. Of course he’d say that.
She stayed in something of a fog all day, chewing on that question in a loop. Is it too late? Is there anything to be scared of? Am I imagining this whole mess because my childhood made me superstitious? If it is what he thinks, isn’t it too late for me?
“Am I too late?” A voice asked suddenly.
Cherry jumped, scared out of her thoughts as the man seemed to read her mind. “...What?” She blurted, still trying to catch up.
The man held up the laminated menu, showing her the picture of a bacon and egg roll. “For the breakfast menu? It’s close, but if it’s still available…”
“Right. Breakfast.” Cherry went back to work. “No problem. I’ll get it for you.” She suddenly remembered that she lived off tips, and put a smile on her face. “Late night?”
“Early morning, actually. We were out a lot earlier than normal today.”
And she finally noticed he was well dressed, with a shoulder bag, and a hat. The classic uniform of a Jehovah’s Witness on the job. She’d been sleepwalking through her job long enough that they’d walked in and sat down without her noticing.
She took his order to the kitchen, did a circuit of the tables, filling coffee, and bussing empty plates as she went. By the time she did that, his breakfast roll was ready, and she took it to their table.
And then she didn’t leave. “Can I ask you all something?”
And the Witnesses almost sat at attention. It was a reaction she knew from memory, but had never experienced. “Of course.” Her customer said for them. “My name’s Felipe. Would you like to sit?”
Cherry sent a glance back at Eugene’s office. There was still no sign of him. “Um, I better not.” She excused. “I’m still on the clock.” She licked her lips. “Okay: I was raised as a Witness. I left… well, some years ago. But this morning my father showed up on my doorstep and said I had to come back, because…”
“Because of the news?” One of them nodded. “Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around today.”
Cherry was about as relaxed as a marble statue. “I’ve seen plenty of headlines that made me think ‘what if?’. This could easily be just another one. Just another false alarm.”
“This is true.” Felipe nodded.
“What do you think?” One of the women at the table asked.
“My father has been telling me to come back since I left.” Cherry admitted. “Of course he’s going to… well…”
“Of course he’s going to say that the news proves he was right all along.” Felipe finished. “So you’re looking for someone other than your father to give you a straight answer?”
“Is this it?” Cherry asked simply.
“And the answer is, we don’t know for sure yet. But every single thing that has happened in the news today fits.” Felipe summed up. “There are other prophecies in the Bible about the Last Days, the Cry of Peace and Security, and the ‘Generation’ that sees these things. Line all of them up, and it’s more ‘it’ right now than it’s ever been at any point in history.”
Cherry sighed. “But no ‘proof’.”
“If I was a detective approaching this like a mystery, I’d have enough ‘evidence’ to decide, even if there was no smoking gun yet.” Felipe offered. “But is that your only reason to come back?”
“Possibly, but not the way you mean.” Cherry said carefully. “I left, because I wasn’t sure I agreed with what the Witnesses were saying about the future. If this is it, then it’ll be proof positive, as far as I’m concerned… But it’s not because I want to ‘sin’ more, or even to ‘have it both ways’. I just want to be sure. My life isn’t one where I can take a sick day, let alone change that much.” She sighed. “My father hated when I said that, because once I had my ‘proof’, it would be too late for me.” She looked hard at them. “Only now my father tells me there’s some ‘new understanding’, and it isn’t too late anymore?”
“That’s right.” Felipe agreed.
“Well, isn’t that convenient?” Cherry scoffed again.
“For your father, it’s not convenient: It’s hope.” Felipe returned. “And before you make a joke out of that, please remember that almost every Witness I know has at least one relative or close friend that makes them cling to that hope with all their strength.”
Cherry said nothing. “It still feels like superstition.” She said finally. “When my father said it was finally happening, I felt more scared than I ever have.”
“And fear is no basis for a good choice. Especially not about God.” Felipe agreed. “Look, you should know: We’ve been getting calls all day from people like you. People who have heard our preaching over the years, and are asking the same questions. We’re having a special meeting for them, to answer any questions, and bring everyone up to date.” He scribbled down the details on the back of a pamphlet. “No obligations, no charge, and your father doesn’t need to know you’re there.”
Despite herself, Cherry smiled as she took the note. “Maybe I will.” She said without committing to anything, but she checked the time and address, knowing she’d be there.
~/*\~
~/*\~~/*\~~/*\~
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